The present invention relates generally to multiple beam antennas, and more particularly, to improved active multiple beam antennas.
A known active multiple beam antenna includes an active lens and a feed array. The active lens is assembled using multiple amplifier units. Each amplifier unit includes a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifier, an unequal length RF transmission line and two RF radiators. The active lens provides two functions including amplification and collimation of the RF signal.
However, not all amplifier units are identical. Consequently, different sets of amplifier units must be designed and fabricated. For a typical active multiple beam antenna that includes 3000 amplifier units, this means that on the order of 600 different amplifier units must be designed. Furthermore, each amplifier unit (3000) must then be located at its proper location. This is a labor intensive task.
Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to provide for improved active multiple beam antennas that overcomes the limitations of conventional active multiple beam antennas.